AAM-15-142-E

Exemption No. 11391

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, DC 20591

 

In the matter of the petition of 

 

STERLING AVIATION d.b.a. Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2014-0948

LANDMARK AVIATION 

for an exemption from part 120 

of Title 14, Code of 

Federal Regulations 

GRANT OF EXEMPTION

By letter dated November 10, 2014, Mr. Robert J. Rufli, Director of Flight Operations, 

Sterling Aviation d.b.a. Landmark Aviation (Sterling), 5480 South Howell Avenue, 

Milwaukee, WI 53207, operating under certificate # DBCA868D, petitioned the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) for an exemption from certain FAA drug and alcohol testing 

regulations in part 120 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), to the extent 

necessary to allow five part 135 operators—Sterling, Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation LLC 

(Piedmont), Galvin Flying Service Inc. (Galvin), Midlantic Jet Charters Inc. (Midlantic), and 

Daedalus Inc. (Daedalus)—to unify their drug and alcohol testing programs into a single 

program. For the reasons described below, we grant the exemption subject to conditions and 

limitations.

The petitioner requests relief from the following regulation:

As stated in § 120.3, the purpose of part 120 is “to establish a program designed to help

prevent accidents and injuries resulting from the use of prohibited drugs or the misuse of 

alcohol by employees who perform safety-sensitive functions in aviation.” Section 120.109 

requires an employer to conduct pre-employment drug screening of all new employees. 

Section 120.115 requires each employer to provide an Employee Assistance Program for drug 

and alcohol abuse, and establishes standards for each such program. Sections 120.111 and 

120.219, among other things, prohibit an employer from releasing certain employee 

information contained in drug and alcohol records. In addition to these specific requirements, 

many part 120 regulations require each employer or part 119 certificate holder with authority 
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to operate under parts 121 or 135, and each operator as defined in § 91.147, to have its own

drug and alcohol testing program.

The petitioner supports its request with the following information:

The petitioner states that the five companies at issue in this petition are affiliated as 

subsidiaries of the Landmark Aviation Corporation but have operated with separate part 135 

certificates and Department of Transportation (DOT) mandated drug and alcohol testing 

programs. Sterling anticipates that a single operating certificate will be issued for all five 

companies’ operations on or before December 31, 2015. Granting this petition would allow 

the companies to unify their drug and alcohol testing programs prior to the FAA’s issuance of 

a single certificate. Sterling states that all of the air carriers have long-established drug and 

alcohol testing programs, all meeting or exceeding our regulatory requirements. Sterling 

states that granting exemptions from the FAA’s drug and alcohol testing regulations to allow a 

unified program will “increase the testing safety net while providing an effective, unified, and 

credible detection and deterrence program to all merging certificates.”

We published a summary of the petition in the Federal Register on January 20, 2015

(80 FR 2775). We received no comments.

The FAA’s analysis is as follows:

Section 120.109 requires an employer to conduct pre-employment testing before hiring or 

transferring individuals into safety-sensitive functions. Sterling requests relief from these 

requirements for all employees transferring from Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation, Galvin 

Flying Service, Midlantic Jet Charters, and Daedalus to Sterling’s existing or new operating 

certificate.1

 Sterling is not seeking relief with respect to new hires from outside the merging 

companies. Sterling states that each of the merging companies’ existing, safety-sensitive 

employees has already been screened for substance use and is subject to a robust, on-going,

and comprehensive drug and alcohol testing program. Furthermore, Sterling states that any 

individual transferring among the five companies will perform the same functions before and 

after the merger. 

The FAA has previously issued similar grants in expectation of two companies unifying under 

a single operating certificate—most recently in Exemption No. 9927—but has never issued an

exemption for relief under circumstances in which five companies would merge into one. 

However, the rationale in our prior grants applies equally here. There, as here, the FAA 

recognized the public interest in facilitating an orderly and compliant transition towards a 

unified drug and alcohol testing program, and found that the exemption had no adverse effect 

on safety. 

 1 Sterling also requested relief from a similar provision, § 120.217, concerning pre-employment alcohol testing. 

We need not consider that request here, however, because §120.217 provides that an employer “may, but [is] not 

required to, conduct pre-employment alcohol testing. . . .” (Emphasis added.)
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Section 120.115 requires each employer to maintain an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). 

As part of that program, § 120.115(b)(iii) and (c) require, respectively, each employer to 

distribute an employer policy regarding drug and alcohol use in the workplace, and to provide 

initial training for employees on the effects and consequences of drug and alcohol use on 

individual health, safety, and work environment. Sterling requests relief from its obligation to

redistribute its policy to and retrain any employees transferring from Piedmont, Galvin, 

Midlantic, or Daedalus. Sterling states that all of the companies’ drug and alcohol testing 

programs will come together into one program maintained through Sterling’s partnership with 

National Air Transportation Association Compliance Services (NATACS). Sterling states 

that NATACS will facilitate a seamless transition during the merger and integration process 

that is to protect the customer and general public. The FAA recognizes that all of the 

companies’ drug and alcohol testing programs are similar in content and administration due to 

their Landmark Aviation affiliation. The FAA also acknowledges Sterling’s forethought in

partnering with NATACS to create a seamless transition to one drug and alcohol testing 

program. Again, the FAA finds that a grant of exemption from the requirement to re-distribute 

Sterling’s policy and retrain employees transferring from the other four companies is in the 

public interest and would not adversely affect safety. 

Sections 120.111 and 120.219, among other things, prohibit an employer from releasing the 

drug and alcohol testing records of its employees. Sterling requests relief from these

confidentiality requirements in order to share or transfer employees’ drug and alcohol testing 

records among the companies involved. Sterling contends that an exemption from 

confidentiality requirements would allow better management of a merged, single-source 

laboratory and Medical Review Officer resources. The FAA finds that a grant of exemption 

from the confidentiality requirements in §§ 120.111 and 120.219, only to the extent necessary 

to allow the five affected companies to consolidate employees’ information, does not 

adversely affect safety and is in the public interest.

In accordance with our prior exemptions, the FAA finds that a grant would be in the public 

interest and would not adversely affect safety. However, also in accordance with our prior 

exemptions, the FAA finds that certain conditions and limitations are necessary to maintain 

public safety. First, we do not exempt Sterling or the other companies from the requirements 

in §§ 120.109(b)(6), 120.119(b), 120.217(c)(6), 120.219(b)(2), which collectively require each

company to continue randomly testing at least a minimum percentage of employees and to 

continue submitting Management Information System (MIS) reports in accordance with part 

40 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR). Second, all drug and alcohol 

testing records for the combined programs must be produced at a single central employer 

location within six months of the issuance of a single operating certificate. Any further delay 

would affect the FAA’s drug and alcohol inspection process and could adversely impact 

public safety. Finally, because Sterling did not include the part 145 repair stations associated 

with Midlantic and Daedalus in its petition for exemption, we do not grant those repair 

stations relief from our regulations.
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The FAA’s Decision

In consideration of the foregoing, I find that a grant of exemption is in the public interest. 

Therefore, pursuant to the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 106(f), 40113 and 44701, 

delegated to me by the Administrator, Sterling Aviation d.b.a. Landmark Aviation (certificate 

# DBCA868D) is granted an exemption from 14 CFR §§ 120.109, 120.111, 120.217, 120.115, 

and 120.219, and from other part 120 regulations requiring each employer or certificate holder 

to maintain its own drug and alcohol program, to the extent necessary to allow Sterling to 

operate one drug and alcohol testing program in unison with Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation

(certificate # I5WA933J), Galvin Flying Service (certificate # HUNA846E), Midlantic Jet 

Charters (certificate # EGQA525D), and Daedalus (certificate # DDNA793K) drug and 

alcohol testing programs, subject to the conditions and limitations listed below. None of these 

companies is exempted from §§ 120.109(b)(6), 120.119(b), 120.217(c)(6) and 120.219(b)(2), 

which require each company to randomly test a percentage of its employees at least equal to 

the minimum required amount, and to submit annual MIS reports in accordance with 49 CFR 

part 40. 

Conditions and Limitations

1. All drug and alcohol testing records for the combined programs must be produced at 

one central employer location within six (6) months of the single operating certificate 

issuance date.

2. The part 145 repair stations associated with Midlantic Charters and Daedalus are not 

granted relief from part 120 requirements.

This exemption terminates on April 30, 2017, unless sooner superseded or rescinded.

Issued in Washington, D.C., on April 20, 2015. .

/s/

James R. Fraser, M.D.

Federal Air Surgeon